On the eve of the 2009-10 English Premier League season kick-off, Fleet Street is buzzing with excitement and the journos are jumping over themselves to tell you the must-know major stories.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was big news as he revealed he turns a blind eye to his players’ fouls and has a strong believe his youth project will be successful. But The Times’ exclusive with Wenger also revealed his reasons for turning down an approach from super power Real Madrid over the summer. Despite the opportunity to work with a “dream team” including recent signings Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso, Wenger says his focus is on finishing the job he started with the Gunners.

“I knew what they wanted to do, but I didn’t want to leave Arsenal,” Wenger told the Times. “I want to go to the end of my job here. I built this team, I want to deliver with this team and I feel that if I left I would in some way have betrayed my beliefs. It is nothing to do with what Real Madrid have done. I just couldn’t see leaving this team at this stage of their development.”

The Frenchman, who turns 60 in October, has won three premiership and four FA Cups with Arsenal but not tasted success since the 2005 FA Cup. Already the most successful Arsenal manager, will he be able to bring more silverware to the London club? It is certain nothing would satisfy him more than to see his young Gunners knock off the big-spending clubs, like Real Madrid, in winning an elusive Champions League title.

Speaking of foreign players … The Telegraph looked at the foreign invasion in the EPL with the stunning facts that of “the 595 players employed by the Premier League’s 20 clubs will come from no fewer than 68 countries. Of those 595, only 248 would be able to represent England in South Africa next summer. Before a ball has even been kicked, Fabio Capello must erase the names of 347 top-flight footballers.” It makes the EPL the most-watched league throughout the world but will it hurt England’s chances in WC10?
Meanwhile, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has signed a new, £110,000-a-week contract keep him with the Reds until 2013, with an option for a further year. Not bad?

But you won’t see David Beckham playing in the EPL again for any chunk of change – the LA Galaxy marquee player insisting he has his heart set on rejoining AC Milan in the MLS off season to boost his chances of booking a ticket to South Africa next summer. That won’t stop the rumors – Chelsea or Spurs perhaps?